Sing Tomorrow

Akagumi (red troop) won at the 62nd NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen.




The theme of this time is "Sing Tomorrow".


There were a lot of songs which encourage devastated Japan.


Especially the most popular child star Mana Ashida and Fuku Suzuki cheered us up so much.

Smile for tomorrow!! ＼(^o^)／

Winning Number of Year-End Jumbo 2011

The winning number of Year-End Jumbo Lottery has just been announced.


1st prize : class52 - 124980 ／ class42 - 163770

2nd prize : 37class - 101799

3rd prize : 148793 ／ 147297

4th prize : 185170

5th prize : 330

6th prize : 84

7th prize : 9





And my one is...

Very close to 1st and 5th prize!!


I missed ￥200,000,000 or ￥10,000.


After all, I can get ￥300 with the ending number 9 as usual. (^o^;)

Year-End Party

I had a drinking party with my ex-coworker today.


We talked a lot about our good old days.


Especially Keiko and Imao made a hearty laugh from us all.



Keiko, learn how to blow your nose with tissue!! lol





I love today's members.


I hope our bonds of friendship will last forever. (^∪^)

Winter Cup 2011

All Japan High School Basketball Tournament (Winter Cup 2011) has been over.


In the boys final today Miyazaki's Nobeoka Gakuen won 88-55 over Kagawa's Jinsei Gakuen, while Sapporo Yamanote had beat Yamagata Commercial in the girls final the day before.

Nobeoka is too strong!!


Congratulations!! (^o^)

Xmas 2011

Merry Christmas!!

Did Santa Claus come to you?



I've just finished my first teaching part of winter school, and the second part will come soon tomorrow.

So today is my only holiday.

What should I do to enjoy this only holiday...?




Anyway, if you want to be in the mood for Christmas, have a look at the following video.

Year-End Jumbo Lottery

I bought Nenmatsu Jumbo Takarakuji(= Year-End Jumbo Lottery) today.

This is the very last day when we can buy Jumbo draw tickets.


If you don't have it now, what about buying your dream? (^^)

Kim Jong-Il died

Nobody knows the truth, but the only fact of his death has spread all over the world.

According to the state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has died of a heart attack on the train at the age of 69.


Millions of North Koreans poured into the streets to mourn his death.


His body has been laid in state in a glass coffin.


It's just like a scene of Japanese film "20th Century Boys".

The state media described one of his sons, Kim Jong-Un, as the "great successor" whom North Koreans should unite behind.


For better or worse, it must be a turning point for North Korea and the world as well.

Too Delicious

Every Saitama resident knows its specialty.

"Jumangoku Manju"

The wind talks to you.


Delicious, too delicious.





※ The famous CM is here.

Barca Win FIFA Club World Cup

Argentine wizard Lionel Messi struck twice as Barcelona overwhelmed Brazil's Santos 4-0 on Sunday to win its second Club World Cup in three years.

Messi, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas scored in the first half as the European champions won its 13th trophy under coach Pep Guardiola.




Who could stop the Barcelona??

Juninichi-Machi 2011

Juninichi-machi was held on December 12th.


I also dropped into the festival after the small jobs.





I could enjoy to see our social conditions reflected by food and game sands there.


Taking a look at one game stand, I could find the goods of AKB48, Arashi, and Korean pop idols.


B-class cuisine boom has been coming all over Japan, so it was easy for me to find B-class food stand such as Atsugi's Shirokoro Hormone and Fujinomiya's Yakisoba.

There were much more people coming to that festival than last year.


And regrettably I also found that the number of bad manners has been increasing.




Never throw away the moral sense that everyone used to have before.

Eclipse of the Moon

Many of Japanese must have looked up at the night sky on December 10th.


After the work on Saturday, of course, I could enjoy watching a spectacular total eclipse of the moon which turned the lunar surface a shade of red.


The eclipse of the moon was a wonderful coraboration with the Orion while I was looking at it.

The next eclipse of the moon will be seen in 2014.

Eigonoie Speech Contest 2011

The 36th Eigonoie Recitation & Speech Contest was held yesterday.


About 80 students from 5th to 9th graders took part in it, and each of them performed on the stage.





Of course I knew all their faces and how much they had practiced.


Especially I was so impressed with 9th graders' speech.


Prof. Takeshi Tarui, who teaches English Phonetics at the University of Electro-Communications, was really surprised at not only their pronunciation but also the story they had made all by themselves only for 2 or 3 weeks.






And the other judge Ms. Suzanne seemed to be interested in that event, but it was difficult for her to evaluate all the students.


She is from Scotland, the U.K., but even she is difficult to pronounce "Gilroy Garlic Festival."





I'm so proud of my students and look forward to their future.



Excelent, everyone!! ＼(^o^)／

Wooden Vending Machine

I found this today!!

It says "eco" itself, but does this machine work on efficiently?? (^o^;)

Big Santa

Yesterday I had a basketball practice at Urawa Nishi Taiikukan (Urawa West Gym).


One of the members took his five-year-old son, and he got so excited to find a very big Santa Claus standing in front of the entrance!!

He'll get a Beyblade or Kamen Rider's goods from his Santa on Christmas.

Kashiwa win J. League 2011 title

Kashiwa Reysol claimed the J. League title today with a 3-1 victory over Urawa Reds, making history by becoming the first team to win the championship following promotion as well as booking their place at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Urawa Reds survived the relegation battle despite today's defeat.


All the matches in 2011 season were over today, and the title of the Emperor's Cup has been left only.





I hope things will go well little by little.


And still I want to say "We are Reds forever!!" ＼(^o^)／

Eigonoie's Xmas Tree

Eigonoie is now in Christmas version.

But we have winter classes at Christmas...

First Love

I met a girl in my dream.


In that dream, she found and spoke to me in the train, talked a lot with me happily, and spent the whole day together.





Yes, she was my first love.





She was the only one that had been in the same class with me at the elementary school for six years.


I like not only her look but her character.


She gave me a smile whenever I met her.





But I was too young at that time to tell her my true heart.


I didn't want to break the friendship with her.


Also, I was afraid that the other friends might make fun of me.






I haven't seen her for a long time.


But that dream reminded me of my first love.


Waking from the dream, I knew it was just a dream, but felt empty.





And I know I still like her.


Perhaps that's why I can't be in love with anyone else.





Well......what and where is she doing now...?


I hope she can enjoy her life.

Hashimoto Dictatorship

Former Osaka governor Toru Hashimoto pulled off a big victory in the Osaka mayoral election and his top aide Ichiro Matsui also won the gubernatorial election on Nov. 27th, helping their metropolis idea to take a major step forward.

Voter turnout in the mayoral election was the highest in 40 years at 60.92%.


The election generated a great deal of interest not only inside but also outside Osaka.



Hashimoto has proposed to reform Osaka's administrative structure because he said the city hall and the prefectural office overlap in their functions.


That landslide victory shows voters' frustration and their overwhelming support for some radical changes.





I think that result is really hard for civil servants working in Osaka.


And I also think his educational reform plan must be extreme.


But here is the fact that Hashimoto's hostility toward the present civil servants went well to arouse young voters' interest.


How many civil servants will support the possible new Osaka??




More or less, and for better or worse, something will change soon under his autocracy...

Disney Magic in Times Square

Mickey and his friends visited New York City and made quite a splash in Times Square.


Guests from all around the world were able to stand in a certain spot and many of the famous Disney and Disney Pixar characters would magically appear next to them.




This must be a magic that all we can enjoy it without any words!! ＼(^o^)／

Juninichi-Machi

Now you can see a beautiful illumination in the west side of Urawa station.

You might think Urawa has nothing to do with the present recession.


But actually, many of the signs on the window around Eigonoie say "Vacant" or "For Rent".


It's true that Nakasendo street is withering.


To deal with this, local association of commerce and industry has managed to enliven the street with several events.






Eigonoie also ccooperate with them by pasting a poster of the upcoming event "Juninichi-machi".

Juninichi-machi will be held from 11:00 to 22:00 on December 12th.


Let's get together and enjoy the event!! ＼(^o^)／

Aum trials really end?

Judicial proceedings for Aum Shinrikyo figures effectively came to an end Monday as Seiichi Endo became the 13th member of the doomsday cult to have his death sentence finalized by the Supreme Court.


I was only 7 at that time, but I strongly remember that the 1995 sarin gas attack on Tokyo's metro struck terror into my heart.


All of you know the poster at the station or police box, saying that three fugitive cultists has been wanted and not yet arrested.





Religion sometimes makes people mad.


We never forget a series of Aum's madness, and hope never it happens ever after.

FOG BAR

I bought a new hair wax.

Shiseido's FOG BAR

This is my first time to use spray on hair wax.


I gonna scrunch my hair and say "Shu Shu Shu Shu~"!!

Interview Project 2011 ②

We had to postpone the interview project in the Imperial Palace because it rained on November 6th.


Some students got greatly disappointed at that time.




After an interval of two weeks, the interview project took place on this long-awaited beautiful holiday.

There were much more people than ever before!!


Students asked their prepared questions one after another and enjoyed talking with each of them.


I was so surprised that one group talked to over 30 foreigners in one and a half hours.





Almost all the students seemed to be more confident in their English through that interview project.


Experience is the best teacher!! (^o^)

Naniwa

One of my students went to Osaka as a school trip last week, then she got me a souvenir.

I've never been to Osaka.


If I have free time, I'd like to go there and eat a lot.



Anyway, thank you, Kanako!! (^^)

Zac's First Defeat

Japan suffered their first defeat under coach Alberto Zaccheroni as the Asian champions lost 1-0 to North Korea in a World Cup qualifier today.

In Japan's first match in the North Korea capital since June 1989, Pak Nam Chol's 50th-minute header avenged North Korea's September defeat in Tokyo and sparked delirious scenes from the packed crowd at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Stadium.


Zaccheroni made six changes to his starting lineup from last week's victory in Tajikistan, and overhauled team failed to click as the hosts took advantage of the lack of Japanese cohesion.




There's no doubt that midfielders Honda, Endo, and Kagawa play a great important role in the present Zac Japan.


Anyway, I felt relief that no players were injured at that game.




Japan had already advanced to the final qualifiers for Brazil from Group C after beating Tajikistan 4-0 on Friday.

Saitama Pref. Residents' Day

November 14th is the Saitama Prefecture Residents' Day.


There's nothing special on this day for adults, but students going to public schools have no classes.




What about jumping to the following links and learnig Saitama a little?

・Brochure of Saitama Prefecture Residents' Day
・History of Saitama
・Kobaton Club

Vhic

I found something printed on ￥10,000 note.

"Vhic"

What does this mean...??

Glitter trees and border

Royal Pines Hotel has already been in Christmas mood.

Who will be with me on this Christmas Day...?

Wooden Watch

I bought a new watch.

Kitson's wooden watch

There are five colors of this watch, and I chose the brown one.

Something natural like this watch makes me so comfortable. (^o^)

TOMASH

I found Kagome's new beverage on the shelf at the convenience store.

"TOMASH"

It's a fresh idea to turn tomato juice into sparkling one.



Never try if you don't like tomato juice. (^^;)

Nap on the roof

I found something lying on the roof of my next-door house.

Look at it closer...

A cat is lost in slumber.



I wanna be a cat and take a nap all day away from the din and bustle of the city.

Oops, sorry.  Disturb your sleep?

2355

These days, before going to bed, I like to see NHK's five minutes show "2355".

It's like a comedy or an educational program.


We can also enjoy the sister program "0655" in the morning.

※ http://www.nhk.or.jp/e2355/

We never burst out laughing at this program.


But we can feel good and be kind. (*^∪^*)

Nyan-Nyan

We postpone today's interview project because of the possible rain this afternoon.


Then I can take part in today's basketball practice instead.



Having a practice around noon, we love to go to a ramen shop Nyan-Nyan behind Inageya.

Thare are many Nyan-Nyan shops in Saitama city, but each taste is a little bit different.


I think the Nyan-Nyan behind Inageya is the best place.


Please go there and have a try!! (^o^)

The Nightmare before Christmas

Happy Halloween!!


An increasing number of people celebrate Halloween every year in Japan.


I don't remember exactly what made me interested in Halloween, but when I saw Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" for the first time, it fascinated me greatly.

If you don't know this film, have a look at the introduction here.
(→http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHLgob-PpIk&hd=1)




You can enjoy the limited Haunted Mansion Halloween version in Tokyo Disneyland after watching this film. ＼(^o^)／




※ I also find this.
(→http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAXMtUCcp7o&hd=1)



Fantastic, isn't it??

Pumpkin Pie

My breakfast today!!

My brother bought it for me at Kobeya in Takadanobaba.


I like pumpkin pie, but it's hard to find one in Urawa.





Do you know any pumpkin pie??

Interview Project 2011 ①

Eigonoie junior high school students asked some questions to foreign people walking around in Tokyo Imperial Palace today.

There were less people there than usual.


Because of the fear for radiation or high-yen recession?



In spite of the bad weather, my students tried hard to interview 15 foreigners!!






We're going there again next Sunday with many elementary school students.


I hope more foreigners will be there.

New Hero Award

Genki Haraguchi received the New Hero Award in the 2011 J-League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, which was decided based on votes from football journalists as he has made a great contribution to his team.

The final of 2011 Nabisco Cup will be kicked off at 13:05 today.



Go Haraguchi Go!!


You're the man!! ＼(^□^)／

Tenya fever

The quality of recent Tendon Tenya's products is so high!!


I've already tried the following two Tendons.

 Oyako Tori Tendon (Chicken and egg Tendon)

Komochi-Hotate no Tendon (Seed Scallop Tendon)

Red pickled ginger and lemon go well with oily Tendons.


How about trying them?

After Gadhafi's Death

The United Nations and two major human rights groups called Friday for an investigation into the death of Moammar Gadhafi amid questions over the final moments of the late Libyan strongman's life.



While the debate continues over whether rebel fighters executed Gadhafi after capturing him, celebrations goes on well and the great majority of Libyans are rejoicing his death.

Libyans have emerged from a very long nightmare, in which two generations lived in terror under Gadhafi's dictatorship.


The details of how he met his end seem irrelevant to most of them.






However hard they had experienced their lives, it's difficult for me to understand that most of Libyans made their big smiles after hearing a human death.


I think the feeling is different between the celebration of the end Kadhafi's dictatorship and the joy of his death.

Children...... What are you pleased with...?

Cruel Passersby in China

If your car accidentally knocks down a toddler, do you call the ambulance immediately or run the girl over again?


If you see a little girl dying on the ground, do you try to save her or ignore her and walk away?




These questions seem to be ridiculous and crazy to answer, but such a cruel incident really happened a few days ago in China.




The graphic surveillance video of the incident in Foshan city shows a van driver striking the two-year-old girl, pausing with his vehicle straddling the gril's torso, then driving forward, running her over a second time with his back wheel.

None of the 18 people who saw the girl's bloody body stopped to help.

The girl was then run over again by a light-duty truck.




If you want to see the video, go to YouTube and find one.
(→http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=china+two+year+girl&utm_source=googletb)




She is in critical condition, her brain show little activity despite earlier subtle movements in the lower body.




Where is the morality?


Where is the love?

Spotted seal "Ara-chan"

People have crowded a riverbank in Shiki, Saitama, to catch a glimpse of a wild spotted seal.

The animal has been seen in the Arakawa river near the Akigase water diversion weir, around 35 kilometers upstream from Tokyo Bay.


When the seal poked its head out from the water about every 10 to 20 minutes, people would call out its name "Ara-chan."

I like sea creatures, but I also wonder why people and media tend to make a great deal of fuss over seals.


If it had been a Steller's sea lion or a walrus, how would people have reacted to it?

All Come Together

Urawa Reds slipped into the relegation places with five matches remaining after a 1-0 derby-day defeat to Omiya Ardija on Saturday.

The result puts the Reds' record this season at only 6 wins, 11 draws, and 12 losses.


Whatever the outcome, Reds manager Zelijko Petrovic announced after the match that he will step down at the end of the season.





I didn't see the match, but it must have been disastrous.


We've come to the crucial stage.


What we really want is goals and victories.




To support Reds, I put a banner on the left side of my blog.


And if you go to the Urawa Reds homepage(→http://www.urawa-reds.co.jp/index.html), you can also download the wallpapers like these.

Urawa Reds, I'm always standing beside you.


You're not walking alone.


Believe us and your pride.


All come together and say,

"We are REDS!!"